Sean is joined Matthew Bocchi, author of the book Sway, out this week, tells his personal story and struggle following the death of his father on 9-11. In the first memoir told by a child of 9/11, Matt intimately dives into the psychological and emotional torment that ensued after his father’s death. With heartbreaking vulnerability, he details how his incessant quest led him down a path of heartbreak and despair, grief and uncertainty, but most importantly, happiness and hope. Plus, Mark Geist is a member of the Annex Security Team that fought the Battle of Benghazi, Libya, from September 11 to September 12, 2012. A Colorado native, Mr. Geist joined the United States Marine Corps in 1984. During his time in the service, he served in Barracks Duty in the Philippines, then with the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines Golf Company, as well as the Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon. He then was chosen to serve in the newly formed Marine Cadre program as an Anti-/Counter- Terrorism Instructor. Upon the completion of a very successful tour and re-enlistment, Mr. Geist changed his military occupational specialty to the Intelligence field, specializing in Interrogation Translation. The Sean Hannity Show is live weekdays from 3 pm to 6 pm ET on iHeartRadio and Hannity.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
An airplane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
All is lost.
There appears to be a gaping hole yawn away.
Oh, there it goes, there it goes, there it goes.
There it goes.
But I know the full side has collapsed, the whole building has collapsed.
Our two has had a major explosion and a complete collapse.
By the lies.
She stands.
Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center.
There she wins.
We're not going to be coward by it, that we're not afraid.
Faithful friend.
The freedom-loving nations of the world stand by our side.
Shining stars.
Proud to have the red, white, and blue.
West would win.
This country will not relent.
Show away.
Proud to be a part of this country.
Carry me.
I think about the families, the children.
To the place.
Freedom itself was attacked, and freedom will be defended.
She stands.
I can hear you.
The rest of the world hears you.
Just when you think it might be over.
Just when you think the fight is gone.
Someone will risk his life to raise you.
But the resolve of our great nation is being tested.
There she stands.
I pledge allegiance to the blood of the United States of love.
And truely power for Richard Stands, one nation and the guardian rule.
Wherever the end of this world.
We will not forget the 2800 people.
Police and fire not only were heroes at the beginning, but they're still heroes.
We're going to come out of this emotionally stronger.
And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
I don't think anybody should forget the visuals of her faith.
Those guys did more than anyone ever expected of them.
In this tree, they messed with the wrong city.
They messed with the wrong state.
She stands.
And I just don't want people to forget.
When evil calls itself a modern.
They all had a sense of duty to protect us all.
When all your homes come crashing down.
We'll be steadfast in our determination.
Someone will fall from above.
The rest of the country now understands who the true defenders are.
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
We see the flying sword and tattered.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
We see her stand the test of tongues.
May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you.
And through it all the fools have fallen.
God bless Ireland and God bless the United States of America.
There she stands.
Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed.
Let's roll.
The phrase New York's finest and New York's bravest means something now, doesn't it?
This is a time to reflect and be thankful for where we are today.
Through the fight, we will rebuild New York City.
She still.
Yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves.
They were at war with us.
We were not at war with them.
Michael W. Smith, there she stands.
And we've got a great video.
We play it every anniversary of 9-1101.
And with the accompanying video, it is so powerful.
When you think it might be over, when you think the fight is gone, someone will risk his life to raise her.
There she stands.
When evil calls itself a martyr, it's hard for good people to wrap their arms around evil, isn't it?
I'm sure, not most, 99.999% of you listening to me are good people.
We're not perfect people.
There's no perfect people.
We're fallen beings.
But our propensity for good is there.
America is a great and exceptional people and nation.
You know, it's funny.
I have a lot of thoughts about this.
So I'm opening, I always read the hard copies of newspapers.
And so I'm reading the New York Post.
I'm not going to lie.
New York Post, my favorite.
They have another more liberal tabloid in New York called the Daily News.
I used to deliver it as a kid.
I have a love of, I like the real paper in my hands versus the internet.
Still do it every day.
You have Epic Times in New York.
You have USA Today.
You have the Toilet Paper Times, Wall Street Journal.
Anyway, so in the New York Post today, full-page ad on page seven is taken out by the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Patrick J. Lynch president.
And it has a picture of a New York police officer.
And he's in his dress uniform with white gloves on, sort of the dress uniform you might see officers wear when they go to a fallen officer's funeral.
And then he's literally sitting on what looks like the rubble where the trade center once stood.
And his head is bowed.
In big letters, it says above the picture, we haven't forgotten.
We have not.
We haven't forgotten.
Then below the picture, have you?
Pretty powerful statement.
Then on page 14, it says, New York City Department of Correction.
Those are the prison guards.
We were there.
We remember.
New York City Department of Correction honors our members of service for their efforts during the 9-11 rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, a temporary morgue at Bellevue Hospital and at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island.
Speaks volumes, doesn't it?
All the anti-police talk we've now heard, well over 100 and how many days, violence, anarchy, rocks, bottles, bricks, frozen water bottles, Molotov cocktails, knives, guns, thousands of cops around this country injured, defunding the police.
Did we forget the guys on 9-11?
Policemen, firemen, first responders, EMTs, when the call came in and they were racing up a building, just two buildings that got plastered by huge airlines, jet airliners.
Everybody else in the building, they were getting the hell out.
But they go in the other direction to save their fellow Americans' lives.
What about them?
99% Of officers.
They've been trashed.
They've been smeared.
They've been slandered by not only the media mob, by prominent Democrats.
Police become the enemy.
The defund effort of the police have the president of the United States begging liberal mayors and liberal governors that have run these cities and states into the ground over decades of rule.
Can you please allow me, I'll help you restore law and order to save lives, safety and security?
No.
So I think about that.
Well, those officers that, the Capitol Hill police officers that were there when Steve Scalise nearly died in that ball field and others were innocently shot, innocent people, the officers themselves injured, they go across a wide open baseball field up against a guy with a rifle that is camouflaged.
That's a death sentence.
A pistol against a rifle at that distance in an open field is a death sentence.
You want to trash them too?
Because that's what's been happening in this country.
Want to trash our military?
Wow.
Same military that for the first time in my adult life, I'm proud of my country.
First time?
I just, you know, it's all on the ballot in 53 days.
It matters.
People can't pursue happiness if they're not safe and secure and they don't have a basic fundamental education.
So I think about that when I hear Michael W. Smith's song.
I think about the, you know, look at how our military has evolved.
Thank God, President Trump, George W. Bush didn't have the military technology that we now have.
Apparently, Trump is saying, we have stuff we never had before that he's built out.
Can't talk about it.
That nobody in China or Russia would ever, ever dream of producing.
We've got it.
What does that mean?
Just by taking off the Joe Biden and Barack Obama handcuffs on our military, that's how they beat the caliphate.
That's how they took out Soleimani.
We don't have to send our national treasure door to door in Baghdad again.
And I'm not criticizing Bush.
It was, you know, he dealt with, you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish have.
Now our military might and advance military technology.
Future wars are going to be fought by pushing buttons in Tampa.
But you have to have a philosophy, win the war.
There's going to be collateral damage, which nobody likes.
It's going to be theirs, not ours.
That's the future of our military.
You know, it's, you know, you want to talk about like the anarchy.
I want you to listen to this montage.
We picked it up, I guess, on Twitter somewhere.
Really powerful Democrats.
You ask yourself this question if they've been encouraging this anarchy.
And in other words, putting our police officers at risk.
Listen.
I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country, and maybe there will be.
People need to start taking to the streets.
This is a dictator.
You know, there needs to be unrest in the streets for as long as there's unrest in our lives.
Enemies of the state.
Show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful.
Do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless.
Bagel low, be killed.
How do you resist the temptation to run up and bring her neck?
Biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right.
I thought he should have punished him in the face.
They said, even if you lost, he insulted your wife on the escalator and called Mexicans rapists and murders.
He said, well, what do you think I should have done?
I said, I think you should have punched him in the face and then gotten out of the race.
He would have been a hero.
I'd like to punch him in the face.
I said, if we were in high school, I'd take you behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.
Punch some people in the face.
When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?
They're still going to have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump.
And that's a fact.
Look as his character is stabbed to death.
Where is John Wilkes Booth when you need him?
That's it right there.
It's warming up.
I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.
A Missouri State Senator is under investigation by the Secret Service after saying she hopes President Trump is assassinated.
I will go and take Trump out tonight.
And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd.
And you push back on them.
And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere.
And sadly, the domestic enemies to our voting system and our honoring our Constitution are right at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
They're not going to stop before Election Day in November, and they're not going to stop after Election Day.
And that should be, everyone should take note of that on both levels.
That this isn't, they're not going to let up, and they should not.
If you think we're rallying now, you ain't seen nothing yet.
All right, as we roll along, 800-941 Sean, you know, speaking of 9-11, you know, Biden has been out there repeatedly making a false claim that he predicted the 9-11 attacks and recently started claiming he supported the bin Laden raid, which contradicts Hillary and Obama.
You know, they love to claim President Trump is a liar.
Well, Joe Biden is the biggest liar, just like the media mob lies every time basically they open their mouths.
Anyway, but for years, this was in the New York Post today, Biden falsely claiming in interviews that he predicted the 9-11 terror attacks and a possible strike on the White House in a speech delivered the day before the terrorist flew planes into the Twin Towers.
And it goes into this whole thing.
It turns out that like everything else that he's lied about and flip-flopped and flailed about it, it's just one big lie.
He did give a speech before the Washington National Press Club when he complained about the Bush administration spending on missile defense and warning of an anthrax attack or biological attack.
Okay, saying that that was more likely.
He didn't predict any such thing.
In an interview with ABC News, hours after the Twin Towers fell, he just claims, I warned this would happen the day before, literally yesterday.
No, he did not.
I mean, this guy flips, flops, flails.
I got more examples of this today.
And we'll get to all of it.
800-941 Sean on a Friday, 53 days until you are the ultimate jury.
We'll take a quick break.
We'll also remember 9-11-2012 and the Benghazi lies, the Sandy burglar lies, the Russia conspiracy lies.
A lot of lying that's been done to we the people.
Quick break, right back.
We'll continue.
All right, live for your die, America and the world on the brink.
You decide 53 short days.
Oh, by the way, we've been doing these virtual town halls.
We have one scheduled tonight right after this radio program, 6.10.
It's free.
Anybody can join me and Newt Gingrich.
Love to have you be a part of it.
It's simple.
All you do is go to Hannity.com and you just click on the Join Now, Join Here button, and there you are with us.
We put the link up at exactly 610 Eastern.
That's 310 on the West Coast, and anybody can come.
We have capacity.
We've had millions of people on some of these virtual town halls, which blows me away.
And so it's going to be a lot of fun.
And look, a lot to talk about.
Anyway, 809 tonight, by the way, right after the show.
All right.
Ooh, poor NFL ratings.
They were down nearly 20% last night, I see.
Oh.
Well, I'm not that interested in sports right now.
This is not.
I've got more important things that I'm focused on.
This is not good if you're a Democrat.
Trump's V-shaped recovery is far outpacing economists' predictions.
You know, you probably won't get this from the mob, the media, but we already, President Trump's V-shaped recovery has far outpaced even the most optimistic predictions from any economic experts.
I honestly, when we saw the numbers first in May, I couldn't believe it.
I thought we wouldn't see those numbers until we got August numbers or maybe July, maybe.
But anyway, in the April Congressional Budget Office projected third quarter unemployment would be 16%.
In May, Goldman Sachs, their forecast had the unemployment rate would be at 10% at the end of the year.
In June, the Federal Reserve predicted a year-end unemployment rate of 9.3%.
In July, JPMorgan added a 10.9%.
Last month, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said that August unemployment rate would be 9.8%.
They're all wrong.
It's now down to 8.4%.
And all the experts, just like, you know, all the models, all the experts on Corona, they were all wrong.
By the way, and when you dig down into the real numbers, all of these experts were expecting the pace of the Obama-Biden recovery, which took, you know, to show any signs of it, the worst recovery since the 40s.
It took until January of 2012 or 27 months to get the jobless rate down from its post-recession rate in 2008.
That's four years late.
Their peak there from 10% to 8.4% or 8.3%.
Under Trump, it took a month, as he said it would.
And Biden's recent complaint, we're down 4.7 million jobs.
Well, in reality, there are many jobs in August of this year, 141 million as there was in March of 2015, five years and nine months into the Obama-Biden worst recovery since the 40s.
Pretty amazing.
In fact, 1.4 million new jobs in August.
Not only the fourth best job creation month on record going back to 1939, it was two and a half times better than any month in the Joe and Barack years.
3.75 million people found jobs in August, the third largest increase ever recorded, four times greater than any month under Barack and Joe.
But they're not going to tell you that in the mob and the media.
Unbelievable.
Let me go to Biden's press secretary.
Goes on with Brett Baer last night.
This is pretty amazing.
Now, Brett Baer is just trying to get an answer to a simple question.
Okay, Biden, are you using the teleprompter to answer questions when you're being interviewed?
Simple question.
Well, before we play the Bear Exchange, let's first show Biden seemingly asking to move that down.
Listen, question.
I would like to know, what will your administration do to help them give them that chance?
Thank you.
Let's move it up here.
You know, there used to be a basic bargain in this country.
Workers shared in the wealth their work helped create.
Well, now let's go to Brett Baer last night.
This is pretty interesting.
And, you know, he's trying to get an answer to a special, you know, simple question.
This is straight from the campaign talking points of Donald Trump.
His name's T.J. Ducklow from the Biden campaign.
Listen.
Has Joe Biden ever used a teleprompter during local interviews or to answer Q ⁇ A with supporters?
Brett, we are not going to engage.
This is straight from the Trump campaign.
They're using it.
And what it does and what it does, Brett, is it's trying to distract the American people.
I'm just from the bottom.
They talk about it every day.
Can you say yes or no?
That's because they talk about it every day, Brett, because they don't have a coherent answer to that.
Well, you have an answer.
Yes or no?
Brett, they talk about it every day because they don't have a coherent argument for why Donald Trump deserves re-election, deserves four more years.
We know that he lied to the American people.
We know that he has not shown leadership during this crisis, and they are desperate to throw anything they can against the wall to try to distract from that fact.
I understand, but you can't answer the question.
Brett, I am not going to allow the Trump campaign to funnel their questions through Fox News and get me to respond to that.
Well.
It's a simple question.
No, he doesn't answer questions with a teleprompter.
Put it to rest.
You know what?
Can you move that up, please?
Sounds to me, look to me like he was waiting for the answer to be put in his teleprompter.
So I interpret it, and that answer makes me even more suspicious.
All right, same interview, Brett Baer and TJ Ducklow, Biden's press secretary, wouldn't answer.
Now, we know what, I mean, through starting with February 1st, Biden tweeting out that the travel ban was hysterical xenophobia and fear-mongering.
He said it numerous times through late March.
Biden did.
So, okay, very tough question by Brett Baer.
He just wants to know whether or not Biden supported a travel ban, which he didn't.
You're saying that Joe Biden was for closing down travel from China when the president did it?
Joe Biden has been clear, and I can send you the fact checks if they're helpful, Brett.
Joe Biden has been clear that he was not against that travel ban.
But he was for it?
Joe Biden has been clear about this, Brett.
Again, I can send you the fact checks if they're helpful.
This has been fact-checked into oblivion.
Okay, I'm just asking you the question.
You're saying yes, he was for the China travel ban when the president implemented it, 48 hours after receiving that briefing.
The important thing about the travel ban is the same.
Yes or no?
Yes or no.
Brett, I know that you all like to cite the travel ban.
I know that.
No, no, no.
The president does.
That's why I'm bringing it up.
Obviously, it's going to be in the debate.
Brett, hold on.
The important thing to know about the travel ban is that even after the president implemented that travel ban, tens or says that he implemented it, tens of thousands of people came in and out of the country.
I'm going to take it that you're not going to answer that question.
You're going to send me some fact checks.
He won't answer a simple question.
By the way, we even have Biden on tape opposing the travel ban.
Listen.
The World Health Organization now has officially, officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Downplaying it, being overly dismissive, or spreading misinformation is only going to hurt us and further advantage the spread of the disease.
But neither should we panic or fall back on xenophobia.
Labeling COVID-19 a foreign virus does not displace accountability for the misjudgments that have been taken thus far by the Trump administration.
I guess German measles won't be called German measles anymore.
He called it xenophobic again.
He did it all through March.
He was saying this.
But that's what you get from the mob, the media.
And Joe has ducked these.
Joe himself never gets asked these questions.
He's answered about 50 questions or so since March.
That's it.
They give him a free pass.
You see the size of the president's rally in Michigan?
You see the overflow size of the crowd last night?
It was massive.
You know, okay.
I thought one of the more funny things that Biden recently got courts caught saying was he had to admit that Trump's trade deal was better than his NAFTA deal.
Said it to fake Jake Tapper, you know, on the issue of NAFTA.
And Tapper pointed out Barack was running for president.
He and Biden both said they'd renegotiate now, but they didn't get it done.
They didn't create record low unemployment for every demographic in the country either.
They didn't support the travel ban.
They're for open borders, sanctuary cities and states, trillions of new taxes, eliminating oil, gas, energy, all of it.
And it's all on tape.
But they just lie.
And they just, this is what, this is what they're afraid of.
And the mob and the media doesn't care.
They don't want to tell you the truth.
You can't answer a question if he uses a teleprompter to answer questions and during interviews.
Really?
Biden opposes NAFTA despite voting for it and being one of the leading voices for it that killed jobs in Michigan and the auto industry.
I'm against fracking.
I'm against fracking.
Oh, no, I think I need Pennsylvania and Ohio.
I'm a for fracking again.
He's just a liar.
I mean, these are not difficult questions.
You know, his record on race, it gets no examination.
Praising the guy that filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 64, opposed the Voting Rights Act, and then partnered with the former Klansman to stop the integration of schools in the late 70s with Robert KKK Byrd because he didn't want his kids going to schools that became, quote, racial jungles, his words.
You know, it's pretty unbelievable.
Yeah, it's funny.
Real Clear Politics founder says the former vice president has done things really smart.
One, he's copying Trump's language.
Really smart thing.
Minimize Trump's advantage on the economy.
He copied Trump's language.
He talks about buying American, building American.
Oh, you mean those jobs ain't coming back?
Oh, okay.
I guess that if you, basically what he's saying is lying is okay.
Okay, he's walked away from more radical elements of his party on fracking.
No, he didn't.
He's just saying what he needs to say to get reelected.
He's acknowledging there's a recovery.
Well, they didn't have a recovery.
Trump blasted Biden for finally admitting NAFTA was a mistake after he voted for it.
He doesn't even know what's going on.
It's kind of true.
You know, the media is hating it.
The president's asking, maybe we should drug test.
I mean, you know, is he drinking a lot of coffee before these debates?
Fair question.
Performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, HGH.
Well, what do we do in professional sports in the Olympics, baseball, et cetera?
Test the players.
Oh, boy.
There we go.
Conspiracy theories.
I don't know.
Maybe he's just drinking tons of coffee.
I don't know.
It's an interesting question the president brings up.
You know what I like more about it than anything else is the media bubbles and fizz like Alka-Seltzer and water.
Joe Biden's out there now condemning the violence police.
Become the enemy.
Of course, we'll reallocate the funds, as he said.
Kamala Harris, $150 million cut LAPD.
Great.
I praise you for that.
Anyway, she greeted supporters outside a roundtable event of black business owners on September 7th in Milwaukee and toured an international Brotherhood of Electric Workers, IBW Trading Center, met with family members of Jacob Blake, and she's still actively raising money for that Minnesota bail fund that has supported people charged with violent felonies.
Whoopsie-daisy.
I mean, it's unbelievable.
Biden ignoring the record offshoring of American auto jobs while he was vice president.
I mean, nobody can answer Lawrence Jones' question when we send him out to all these different cities.
Okay, what has Joe Biden ever done in all these years as vice president to make your lives better?
One bit of good news, I didn't like the fact that it seems in a lot of these early voting states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, three to one, it looks like a Democratic advantage.
That concerns me.
I know Republicans are a little more dubious of it, and they win day of voting by massive amounts.
That history is accurate.
But one thing that was encouraging, since 2016, Democrats have netted nearly seven times as many registered voters in Pennsylvania than the Democrats.
They've added 198,000 registered voters.
Republicans surging in heated battles for the Senate.
Martha McSally's doing a lot better out in Arizona.
She's a great candidate.
I'd love to see her win out there.
I'd love to see Corey Gardner hold on to his seat.
I think I'd love to see Purdue hang on to his seat in Georgia.
This special election, by the way, we'll see what happens with Doug Collins and Lofner out there.
Iowa Joni Ernst is doing well.
Susan Collins looks like she's going to hold on to her seat.
Hopefully, the 2nd Congressional District of Maine might tip the balance of who's the president.
That's how important the Maine 2nd Congressional District is.
They got a great candidate, we'll tell you about.
John James is doing great in Michigan.
Like him a lot.
He's been a friend of this program for a while now.
So, you know, lots going to happen between now and then.
You have threats, though.
The Transition Integrity Project founder suggesting a military coup against Donald Trump after the inauguration.
Pelosi on the wildfires in California.
Mother Earth is angry.
You can't make this stuff up.
You really can't.
Anyway, 800-941, Sean, if you want to be a part of the program.
So much to get to today, remembering 9-11.
Also 9-11-2012, Benghazi and the line that took place after that.
We'll get into all of that.
Oh, they happened.
Mueller's team, they all cleaned their phones.
Well, Sidney Powell actually rightly says that would constitute obstruction of justice of the worst form.
They all give the same lame excuse.
We'll get into that today.
This just into our newsroom, a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
Apparently, that was another plane.
An airplane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
There appears to be a gaping hole.
There it goes.
But I know.
The full side has collapsed.
Nothing has left.
Why is that a major explosion and a complete collapse?
By the light...
Why is it left?
She still.
Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center.
Missy waves.
We're not going to be coward by it that we're not afraid.
Faithful friends.
The freedom-loving nations of the world stand by our side.
Shim stars.
Proud to have the red, white, and blue.
West would wish.
This country will not relent.
Show away.
Proud to be a part of this country.
Carry me.
I think about the families, children.
To the place.
Freedom itself was attacked, and freedom will be defended.
She stands.
I can hear you.
The rest of the world hears you.
Just when you think it might be over.
Come on.
Just when you think the fight is gone.
Someone will risk his life to raise you.
But the resolve of our great nation is being tested.
Then she stands.
I pledge allegiance to the void of the United States and the Jubilee Power for Richardson.
One nation undergoing whole.
Wherever the end of this fall, then she flies.
We will not forget the 2,800 people.
Fear blue sky.
Police and fire.
Not only were heroes at the beginning, but they're still heroes.
We're going to come out of this emotionally stronger.
Those that die.
And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
I don't think anybody should forget the officials of her faith.
Those guys did more than anything we were expected of them.
In this tree.
They messed with the wrong city.
They messed with the wrong state.
She stands.
And I just don't want people to forget.
When evil calls itself a modern.
They all had a sense of duty to protect us all.
When all your homes come crashing down.
We'll be steadfast in our determination.
Someone will fall from above.
The rest of the country now understand who the true defenders are.
She stands.
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
We see the fine sword and tattered.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
We see to stand.
May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you.
And through it all the fools have fallen.
God bless Ireland and God bless the United States of America.
Now America's embracing a new ethic and a new creed.
Let's roll.
The phrase New York's finest and New York's bravest means something now, doesn't it?
This is a time to reflect and be thankful for where we are today.
And through the fight, we will rebuild New York City.
She stands.
Yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves.
Right there she stands.
And I keep going back to glad you're with us.
Reminder, by the way, 610 tonight, 6.10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 2020 town hall, Newt Gingrich.
Just going to be a conversation.
The state of the race, what we both think about it, and what's at stake in just 53 short days.
Powerful song, Michael W. Smith.
When you see the video version we have for Hannity tonight, it blows you away.
And, you know, so I'm reading through my daily papers.
I still like to read the hard copies.
I know probably most of you, a lot of cities don't even have, you know, except for maybe USA Today and just a small thin local paper.
New York has the Wall Street Journal, Epic Times.
Who would ever want to read the Toilet Paper Times?
But in the Daily News and the New York Post, they have two tabloids, which are great, but there was an ad taken out today, mentioned earlier.
Police Benevolent Association, City of New York.
It has a cop dressed in their dress gear, gloves on, white gloves on, sitting on the rubble where 9-11 happened.
And literally, just with the head bowed, we haven't forgotten, have you?
Police Benevolent Association, City of New York.
Another full-page ad.
New York City Department of Correction.
We were there.
We remember.
The New York City Department of Correction honors our members of service for their efforts during the 9-11 rescue recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
I want to go so, you know, all the deep staters are out there now hawking their books.
Now, we already knew that Strzok and Paige, that Mueller allowed their phones to be wiped clean.
They actually sent them back to the manufacturer.
And pretty unbelievable.
What we learned yesterday, according to DOJ records, you literally had multiple members of Mueller's team, including the pit bull, Andrew Weissman himself, wiping their department phones clean before turning them over to the inspector general.
And get this, many of them just use the same exact suspicious excuse.
You know, we entered the wrong password too many times.
Weissman used the password excuse for one device, then claimed he accidentally wiped clean another device.
Accidentally wipe it clean.
You don't accidentally wipe a phone clean.
Anybody, you know, it's, are you sure?
Are you trippily sure?
I don't even, I wouldn't even know how to do it if I wanted to do it.
Anyway, according to the documents, well over a dozen of these devices were wiped clean.
Well, what's the Mueller team trying to hide here?
Pretty obvious to me that, well, I was investigating this.
By the way, same guys going after people for lying to Congress, process crimes, obstructing justice.
So what are they hiding here?
Now, the focus on, you know, rather than focus on possible criminal violations, you know, then you got the compromise corrupt congenital liar Adam Schiff.
You know, he's got more Russian conspiracy hoaxes.
Anyway, Strzok is on CBS.
I guess he's hawking his book earlier this week, and this is what he said.
The Justice Department is trying to dismiss charges against former National Security Advisor Flynn.
You went to the White House to interview him back in 2017.
The Attorney General is saying what you did is set up a, quote, perjury trap.
Did you do that, sir?
Not at all.
That's a ludicrous accusation.
The fact of the matter is that the National Security Advisor of the United States had had discussions with the Russian ambassador about lessening the Russian response to those sanctions well before the Trump administration had sworn in.
Are you a target or a witness?
Well, I'm certainly done nothing wrong, so I'm not worried about whatever he may find.
If he finds the truth, I'm not worried.
Do you expect additional indictments?
With regard to government employees working on the case, not at all.
Not at all.
Well, he's pretty confident.
Did you like wipe it clean with like a cloth?
Anyway, here to respond, David Schoen, former board member of Alabama Civil Liberties Union, civil liberties attorney, John Solomon, editor-in-chief, justthenews.com.
John, from the news standpoint in this, boy, if you wiped your phone clean and I wipe my phone clean, why do I think we get a lot more outrage in the mob?
Yeah, listen, it's part of a larger pattern that we've seen in the Russia case, right?
You talked about Strzzok's phone.
We've talked about the, now we know about the Mueller phones.
We know just a week ago, it was revealed in the Senate intelligence report that Jonathan Weiner destroyed all of his documents of his contacts at the State Department with Christopher Steele, including many of the work products, dossiers, that Steele provided Secretary Kerry and Assistant Secretary Newland.
So there is a theme that now goes through this.
A lot of people seem to be wiping, destroying evidence.
And the question now remains, were these pieces of equipment backed up before they were wiped?
Are there servers where the text messages and emails can still be retrieved from?
We learned from Strzzok that the IG was able to recover a lot of those emails.
Let's hope we can recover the emails that belong to Weissman and the other players at the Mueller case that we can check them for history, check them for accuracy.
That's an open question.
We have not been able to get answers from the Justice Department whether those devices were backed up.
What do you think?
You know Andrew Weissman well, David School.
What have you gleaned from him?
And we know what Strzok said in the text messages.
No need to repeat them about the insurance policy.
And again, they didn't think they were lying.
And then this other note showed up that says, well, what's our goal here?
I don't know if it came from him or who it came from.
Is our goal to get him to lie?
Is our goal to get an admission?
Their goal should be to find the truth.
Yeah, listen, it's so nauseating the idea that Strzok is given a platform now and writing a book.
Remember, since we're talking about phones, Strzok was using phones in a conniving way to hide his cheating affair from his wife while he was on the job.
This is a guy with a national security position.
Nothing subjects one more to national security compromise than being vulnerable for having an affair, that sort of thing.
He knows how to misuse phones.
But listen, a couple of very important points, I think.
First of all, special counsel team is subject to all of the ethical considerations of members of the Department of Justice.
What's on their phone is not their data or information.
It's the American people's.
Secondly, you know, you made the point.
I'm technologically inept.
I couldn't erase my phone if I tried to.
And I certainly have never done it since I've had a phone.
A private employer could be liable under the law for erasing an employee's phone calls.
There are federal regulations regarding how these federal employees can use their phones.
But remember, this was a so-called investigation involving the president of the United States.
By one recent report, 27 phones were erased.
That can't be accidental.
And you know if Andrew Weissman, Greg Andres were involved, it wasn't accidental.
These are people who prosecute people.
Remember this.
If you're an American citizen, they may well prosecute you for erasing data on your phone or erasing data on your computers.
They call it obstruction of justice.
I want to make one political point here.
I got to make.
And that is, please remember, I don't make political points generally.
My area is the law, not politics.
These people could very well be back in office prosecuting American people on their political agenda, depending on what happens in November.
That's a very scary proposition.
Well, bet there'd be a lot of revenge against John Solomon, you and me.
Just guessing, John, based on what we learned recently that we were, well, let's just say our social media was targeted to be observed, et cetera, by people that were working in the Ukrainian embassy.
That wasn't particularly heartwarming to me or my text messages released publicly or the 45 pages of 302s on me because they actually read how much I don't like them, everything pretty much I say publicly, John Solomon.
Yeah, absolutely.
Listen, there's an even more scary thing.
I just filed a FOIA, a Freedom of Information Act request at the DNI for any instances in which journalists were intercepted and unmasked by the ODNI or by any intelligence agency from January 15th through January 2019.
And you know what response came back?
We will neither confirm nor deny because it involves the sort of tactics we use on a daily basis in the intelligence community.
That is a very chilling response.
It's known as a Glomar response.
We're just not going to tell you.
Somebody in authority, whether it's John Radcliffe at Odi or in Congress, should press and say we should have an accounting every time a journalist or a member of Congress or a member of the judiciary, a judge, has been intercepted and unmasked.
These intelligence agencies should keep a record in the number of times and the reasons why they did that because it infringes on the First Amendment and other rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution.
The fact that our government says we're not going to answer it ought to really raise concerns for all of us.
All right.
Stay right there.
We'll take a break more with David Schoen and also John Solomon.
Reminder, by the way, 6:10 tonight, 6:10 Eastern Time.
That's 3:10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 20-20 town hall, Newt Gingrich.
Just going to be a conversation.
The state of the race, what we both think about it, and what's at stake in just 53 short days.
6:10 tonight, 6:10 Eastern Time.
We're doing a 20-20 town hall, Newt Gingrich, at 6:10 exactly tonight.
Nuke Gingrich and I are doing it together.
Actually, he's hosting it, and I'm sort of like his guest, but it's going to be, you know, just going to be a conversation.
We continue with David Schoen, John Solomon.
We only have a little less than two minutes.
You wrote this piece today about Hunter Biden tied fund helping the communist Chinese obtain a Michigan Auto Parts maker.
Tell me about that, John.
Yeah, the president mentioned it last night in his speech.
Listen, what goes on here is there's a dual use technology company in Michigan, in the great state of Michigan, Porton Primary State, where Hunter Biden's firm goes in, they buy it, and they transfer it to a company called AVIC.
AVIC has been on the watch list of the United States for more than two decades because it has armed our enemies with illegal weapons.
It is helping the Chinese PLA military.
Yet the Obama administration, with Hunter Biden being the beneficiary, approved that transaction.
Pretty amazing that we never seem to get to the bottom of corruption.
Do you believe Durham will get there based on what we already have in the public record?
Last question, David Sho.
No, I don't.
And I think he should have come out with his findings.
I think there should have been prosecutions months ago in this thing.
I think it's a travesty that there haven't been.
You mentioned Andrew Weissman before.
This is a man.
I have a case right now, the Cesson Arena case that I'm working on, in which he outright lied over and over again.
He used a top echelon confidential informant who told him a story.
He hid that story for two years.
He had a witness he put up on the stand, was paid $125,000.
He told the court he was not paid anything.
If you believe anything in this case was accidental and involved Andrew Weissman, you're crazy.
If we don't hold him accountable, this will never end.
It'll get worse.
All right, John Solomon, just the news.com.
David Schoen, attorney, civil liberties attorney, 800-941-Sean.
Hey, reminder, by the way, 6:10 tonight.
We're doing a 2020 town hall.
Newt Gingrich and I are doing it together.
Just go to Hannity.com at 6:10 exactly tonight, right after the show.
All right, live free or die.
America and the world on the brink, and it's only 53 short days until you are the ultimate jury.
Hey, reminder, by the way, 6:10 tonight, 6:10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific time.
We're doing a 2020 town hall.
Newt Gingrich and I are doing it together.
Actually, he's hosting it, and I'm sort of like his guest.
Just go to Hannity.com at 6:10 exactly tonight, right after the show.
Well, it's 19 years since September 11th, 2001.
I'll never forget.
We began our 20th year in radio syndication yesterday.
I'm never going to really ever talk about it because we know what happened the next day, and it changed the world.
And I lost people I knew and friends, and I mean, just unspeakable amount of pain and carnage.
There was another September 11th, this time in 2012.
Remember what happened?
That would be the Battle of Benghazi in Libya.
Remember, there was a CIA annex.
Ambassador Stevens, three others were dead, murdered.
And then we got the whole lying thing.
Remember the stand down orders for the guys about a mile away listening on the radio, what's happening, you know, trying to go help.
Finally, they just put their whole careers on the line.
Says, you know what?
We're not standing down.
Our fellow Americans are in trouble.
And they went and they fought and they saved American lives.
And then we were told later, no, this is a spontaneous demonstration.
It just happened spontaneously.
Oh, people spontaneously have RPG rocket launchers in their back pocket and just passing by the embassy and said, oh, let me fire it here.
It was an attack.
It was a planned attack.
And nothing was done to help Ambassador Stevens or anybody else that was in that embassy.
Nothing.
And then we were lied to repeatedly.
You know, oh, yeah, no, it was inspired by, I believe, a cartoon.
And no, it happened spontaneously.
And then Hillary, well, what difference does it make?
Let's listen in.
These are the lies we were told after September 11, 2012.
This is a fairly volatile situation, and it is in response not to United States policy, not to, obviously, the administration, not to the American people.
It is in response to a video.
Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior along with the protest that took place at our embassy in Cairo yesterday as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet.
We can all condemn this reprehensible video.
It's a crude and disgusting video.
Sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world.
I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video.
With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans.
Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans?
What difference at this point does it make?
It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.
A lie.
They made it up whole cloth, all of it.
And they lied repeatedly.
You know, and this is the whole thing.
We've been lied to for four years about Trump and Russia and collusion.
The mob, the media, they lied to us on one conspiracy theory, one lie after another.
They went forward with illegal spying on Carter Page and a presidential campaign and deep into the presidency of Donald Trump, all based on a lie that was disproven before they ever signed off on the spying.
They don't seem to care.
You can go back.
Remember, Sandy Berger goes into the National Archives after 9-11.
He just happened to shove some documents in his socks down his backside, near his private parts.
He shoved it into his pants.
What was he taking and stealing from the National Archives?
And why would somebody in his position ever do it?
And then the media, the mob typically, what did they do?
They came to his aid in his defense.
You know, when he put the papers, you know, next to, you know, his backside and his private parts and his socks, he was just being sloppy.
Just think maybe this is a case of sloppiness.
I'm sure it was a careless, sloppy moment.
And he admitted to this, and he was sloppy about it.
I'm sloppy too, so I can appreciate this.
Obviously, the sloppiness was not something that we're going to regret later.
And it was a case of sloppiness.
Sloppy, sloppy.
Sloppy.
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
Anyway, what is the truth?
Anyway, Mark Geist, he was one of the people at that annex a mile away, given standdown orders.
He fought the Battle of Benghazi from September 11th to September 12th, 2012.
Colorado Native joined the Marine Corps in 1984.
Mark Geist, it's been a while.
How are you, my friend?
I'm doing great.
Thanks for having me on, Sean.
Like you said, it's been a while.
Good to see you.
Good to be back on.
I'm glad to have you back on.
All right, let's talk about, you know, that day.
I noticed recently that Joe Biden tweeted out, Donald Trump is incapable of providing the leadership this moment requires.
You wrote back on Twitter, under your leadership, at Hillary Clinton, was allowed to let Ambassador Stephen Sean Smith and two of my friends die.
Wow.
Well, and that's it.
It's, I mean, there's not leadership from a politician.
I mean, at the popularity contest, you know as well as I do from your background that a leader usually is the guy that's making those hard decisions and he's not liked by everybody.
It's not a popularity contest if you're the guy in charge.
You have to make those hard decisions.
And that's what we know this president we have right now, Donald Trump, is willing to do is make the hard decision to do what's best for America.
And it's just with Joe Biden, you're going to have the same thing that we've had with Obama, Hillary, and him then.
And it's 47 years of doing nothing.
You know, it's amazing as you watch this.
Go back to September 11, 2012, though.
Go back to that day.
Now, my recollection is you and a number of your brave fellow Annex occupants were begging to go help because you knew that the embassy was under attack, right?
So you finally just risked your whole career and blow it up because you basically defied orders and you went anyway.
Is that correct?
Yeah.
You know, the call came in.
It was around 9.35, 9.40.
I was out in town with a female case officer.
We were doing some work.
The guys got the call and Ty called me over my cell phone, told me what was going on.
So we're making our way back.
And in that meantime, Bob tells him, no, you're not going to go anywhere.
And they confronted him a second time.
And he says, no, you need to stand down.
And what really, the straw that broke the camel's back is when we heard over the radio the team leader from the State Department come over and say, if you don't get here now, we are all going to F and die.
At that point, they quit asking questions and Bob told them they couldn't go, but they went anyways.
And they went over and risked their lives, five guys, to push off 40 armed insurgents to rescue the ambassador, to put American eyes on and know what the intel is.
And, you know, it just infuriates me that Bob tried to hold them back.
And there's so many other stand down orders that have come about since that we know of that we didn't even know of then.
And it's just ridiculous.
If it wasn't us as a team working, you know, because throughout the night over the 13 hours, I think they, I've heard estimates of anywhere between 150 and 300 people.
And that's what we were fighting against.
And if it wasn't for us as a team to stick together and do what needed to be done, there would have been over 30 Americans that were killed that night.
Unbelievable.
But we did lose.
And then when you finally arrived, I think you guys went were flown out of there.
And I think you went to Germany.
It was your first stop.
Am I mistaken?
Yep.
Yep.
That was my, my first surgery was in Libya.
And then from there, that on the 12th, and then the evening of the 12th, we were all flown into Germany, into Lunstel, Germany.
And that's when you began to hear the coverage in the United States and the administration.
And you're watching the coverage and you're like, they're lying.
Yeah.
You know, it's when you see what they, the spin that, you know, and doing what we do, you know, there's going to be somewhat of a spin, but never had I thought that it would be as blatant lies and misrepresentations.
I mean, at a minimum, you would think they could at least tell us the truth, but they couldn't even do that.
I mean, we got invited to Hillary's retirement.
Then we got uninvited 24 hours beforehand.
I mean, we were just pretty much ostracized for saving lives.
When we played that tape just moments ago, we know about the Susan Rice Five Sunday show lies, and then you hear Hillary Clinton screaming at this point, what difference does it make?
How does that make you feel?
It's the same thing as it did then.
It's anger.
You know, and I've got to keep that.
That's the challenge I have is on a daily basis to not let that anger run my life.
I think, you know, I look at justice as going to happen either in this life or the next for them.
And what we can do to them here is nothing that is going to happen.
You can't compare to what's going to happen to them in the afterlife.
You know, you said when you spoke at the RNC that four Americans, my friends, Ambassador Stephen, Sean Smith, Ty Woods, Glenn Dougherty, paid the ultimate price for that failure of leadership.
I know you stay in touch with some of the families.
Do they ever recover?
You know, you never recover from something like this.
I mean, just like those, you know, there's never, and part of that recovery is, you know, you learn to live with it.
You learn to live with the fact that the administration at that time let you down.
There could have been a different outcome.
Because if you let that hate, because that's what it'll boil into is hate.
And that hate turns into, you know, that anger turns into hate.
And that hate then doesn't allow you to think.
And we've seen, you know, we've seen over the last month since coronavirus what the left has been infuriating people with hate and fear and what that causes.
Yeah.
Well, Mark Geist, your American hero.
Good to catch back up with you.
Please say hi to all of your brave colleagues that saved lives, American lives that day.
And I share your anger, and it was great to see you at the RNC, and we really appreciate you being Willis.
Sean, thank you so much.
And thanks for all you're doing for this country as well.
I mean, you know, not everybody has to carry a gun to be a warrior, and you're keeping that fight out there, and God bless you for doing that.
Yeah.
You know, it's sad because we get lied to over and over and over again.
And then people are never held accountable.
Have ever noticed the Clintons never get held accountable.
It's really sick.
It's really sad.
I mean, how do we claim to have equal justice under the law, equal application of our laws?
But anyway, Mark Geist, you're a friend of the program always.
You're a great American.
You're a great patriot.
You're courageous.
You saved lives.
And thank you for all you did that day.
Thank you, Sean, and God bless you.
You too.
God bless you too.
Hey, reminder, by the way, 6.10 tonight, 6.10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 2020 town haul.
Just go to Hannity.com at 6.10 exactly tonight, right after the show.
All right, let's get to our busy telephones here as we say hi to Adam.
He's in Minneapolis.
Adam, I have a question for you as we welcome you to the program.
Thanks for calling.
First of all, Adam, is there a chance Minnesota goes for Donald J. Trump in 53 days?
I tell you what, I sure hope so.
I mean, we had five mayors up in northern Minnesota come out in support for President Trump.
So, you know, hey, if you're not overtaken by Trump syndrome and you can, you know, honestly look at reality, it's an easy choice, you know.
So I think there's a very good chance.
Yeah.
Okay.
What's on your mind today?
Well, first of all, I just wanted to say God bless all the families who are personally affected by 9-11.
I had a tear in my eye watching the ceremony in Pennsylvania.
I'm sure they're having another crappy day, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, hey, our forefathers were brave men, and we call them patriots.
And my question is, outside of voting for President Trump, what should we do collectively as a group to save our country on a daily basis besides, you know, buying guns and ammo?
I mean, if we just sit here.
Well, on a daily basis, I mean, it's a little more complicated.
Look, I have been a firearm enthusiast, even, especially handguns, since I'm young.
My parents, they had loaded weapons in the house.
So that, for personal safety, I urge people: if you're going to get a gun, make sure you get trained in the use and safety of such.
It's not a toy.
In terms of the country, you've got to win.
You've got to defeat the bad ideas they're offering.
Their plan will literally destroy their stated plan will destroy the economy and it will result in broken promises and predictable loss of freedoms and misery.
That's not in dispute.
So how do you win?
You win at the ballot box.
And I'd like to see an overwhelming win and send a message to the country, to the elite, to the media, to Hollywood, to the swamp in D.C. There's a new sheriff in town, and we have your number, and you're not getting power back.
That's the short.
Give you the last 10 seconds.
I agree with you, but even when Trump wins, I mean, look at the Durham report.
It's taken forever and it shouldn't have taken this long.
The fight still continues.
Yeah, listen, I hear you.
I totally hear you.
And there's going to be a battle of ideas, but Donald Trump will restore order.
Eventually, these cities, once probably post-election, they're going to say, all right, you can come in now.
The election's over.
Hey, don't forget, you just go to Hannity.com tonight, 6.10 p.m., 3.10 Pacific Time, Town Hall, 2020 Town Hall for free.
Me and Newt Gingrich.
Just just into our newsroom.
A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
Will not.
Apparently, that was another plane.
An airplane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
All is lost.
There appears to be a gaping hole.
Gone away.
Oh, there it goes.
There it goes.
But I know.
The full side has collapsed.
The whole building has collapsed.
Now it's now that a motor spoke in her complete collapse.
By the lies.
She stands.
Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center.
This wins.
We're not going to be coward by it, that we're not afraid.
Faithful friends.
The freedom-loving nations of the world stand by our side.
Shilling stars.
Proud to have the red, white, and blue.
West would win.
This country will not relax.
Proud to be a part of this country.
Carry me.
I think about the families, the children.
To the place.
Freedom itself was attacked and freedom will be defended.
She stands.
I can hear you.
The rest of the world hears you.
Just when you think it might be over.
Come on.
Someone will risk his life to raise you.
The resolve of our great nation is being tested.
Then she stands.
I pledge allegiance to the blood of the United States of the Jewly pilot for Richardson.
One nation undergoing the rival.
Forever the end of this world.
Then she flies.
We will not forget the 2,800 people.
Police and fire.
Not only were heroes at the beginning, but they're still heroes.
Monson was risk.
We're going to come out of this emotionally stronger.
Those that die.
And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
I don't think anybody should forget the foods of their faith.
Those guys did more than anyone ever expected of them.
They messed with the wrong city.
They messed with the wrong state.
She stands.
And I just don't want people to forget.
When evil calls itself a martyr.
They all had a sense of duty to protect us all.
When all your hearts don't crash me down.
We'll be steadfast in our determination.
The rest of the country now understands who the true defenders are.
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
We see the flying sword and setting.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
We see the stem and just a tawny.
May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you.
And throughout it all the foes have fallen.
God bless Ireland and God bless the United States of America.
Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed.
Let's roll.
The phrase New York's finest and New York's bravest means something now, doesn't it?
This is a time to reflect and be thankful for where we are today.
And through the fight, we will rebuild New York City.
She stands.
Yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves.
All right, news roundup information overload hour on this Friday, 800-94.
When Sean, you want to be a part of the program, that song, There She Stands, Michael W. Smith.
We have a video accompanying a lot of what you just heard there.
It's very powerful.
We'll air it tonight on Hannity on the Fox News channel.
Hey, reminder, by the way, 6.10 tonight, 6.10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 2020 town hall.
Just go to Hannity.com at 6.10 exactly tonight, right after the show.
You know, I don't want to forget this day.
I mentioned at the beginning of the program what it was like for me and, you know, in the days afterwards.
There was an amazing moment where the country did come together.
It was all hands on deck, you know, in the search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero at the Pentagon.
Just, you know, as they were at war with us, we weren't at war with them.
Matthew Bocci lost his father.
He worked at Canter Fitzgerald.
As a kid, I went to high school with Pharaoh Lynch.
Him and his brother died on 9-11-01.
And it was one of the upper floors of one of the buildings, one of the trade center buildings.
Matt lost his father, Cannon Fitzgerald executive, in the terrorist attacks.
And he was only nine years old.
His grief, his anguish spawned an exhaustive quest to find out exactly what happened to his father.
He obsessed over videotapes and pictures and blogs, anything that would answer the unspeakable question that loomed in his mind.
Was his father one of the guys that jumped out of those upper floors because the heat was that unbearable?
I mean, they knew they were going to die.
And they're like, okay, I can sit here and just burn to death slowly or I'll just take a jump.
I don't blame people.
What would you do?
We're going to judge people in that environment.
Anyway, in the wake of this came the shocking and unforgivable betrayal of trust by a family member who sent an innocent and vulnerable young man spiraling down what was a pit of drug and alcohol abuse.
It nearly cost his life.
And anyway, Matt recounts his story in an upcoming memoir that's called Sway, and he joins us now.
How are you?
Hey, Sean, I'm doing well.
How are you doing?
Well, I don't think anybody ever, when you lose a parent, I mean, you know, I lost my parents a long time ago, and I have older friends of mine that more recently have lost parents that were even in their 90s.
It's never easy.
Losing a father at nine has to be devastating.
It is absolutely devastating losing a father at a young age.
And I think even more so devastating.
And the reason why it impacted my life so greatly was the fact that 9-11 was such a sensationalized event.
And the things that you were just mentioning before, you know, the footage and the pictures and all that stuff, that stuff that I openly watched because I was trying to feel something and look at these pictures and these videos and sort of empathize with my father and be with him in his final moments, watching as everything was unfolding.
Would you say or argue that maybe you had sort of an obsessive, compulsive, you know, tendency here?
And that is, you know, if you wanted to know, why did you want to know so badly if your father had been one of the people that actually jumped out of the window?
Why would you want to know that, especially at a young age?
Well, yeah, to answer your question, it was 100% obsessive and it was an addiction in and of itself.
And, you know, I don't really know.
Well, you were traumatized.
I mean, let's be honest here.
It's trauma to a nine-year-old kid.
It's not like your dad had an illness and you had some awareness that he might not make it.
Or it's like a car accident.
There's no warning.
It just happens or a heart attack, something that just takes somebody's life instantly.
And now this is a terrorist attack.
Exactly.
And I don't know why I fascinated so greatly with the fact that he may have jumped.
I just remember seeing the videos of people and then starting to realize that my dad was on those upper floors.
You know, he was on one of the top floors of the North Tower where the majority of people decided to jump to their deaths to escape the fire, as you mentioned.
And so I wanted to just piece together any of the time gaps that I had since I already knew that he spoke to my mom and his brother, my uncle, on the phone and said goodbye.
I didn't know what happened from those phone calls to the time and point of collapse.
And that was something that I was so determined to fill in and figure out.
All right, let's talk.
So how did you get, you know, evolve into, I mean, was it your way of getting rid of pain?
Well, in other words, how did you get into at a young age?
How old were you when you descended into the dark world of drug and alcohol abuse?
Well, so what happened initially was my family, particularly my mother and my uncle, who I was just referring to, they stopped answering my questions that I started to ask.
And those questions were, did my dad sound scared on the phone?
What do you think he was going through in there?
Did you hear any commotion in the background?
You know, people in the background screaming, anything like that.
You know, these are things that were just going through my head and things I was trying to process.
And so eventually, when they stopped engaging in those conversations and giving in and trying to answer them and help me, they knew it was a disservice to continue asking.
I had an uncle through marriage who openly took on that responsibility and wanted me to talk to him about it.
And then he told me that my father jumped from the towers that day, knowing that I was looking at all these pictures trying to find him and one of them.
Did he know that for a fact or no?
No, he said that, and that wasn't the truth.
He said that to me as a way to exploit my vulnerability, and he used that to sexually abuse me.
And then that led to the, you know, what kind of drugs were you using?
How much, how much, how addicted were you?
Yeah, and that's what led to it.
I was addicted to opiates.
I was addicted to oxies, painkillers, any really, any opiate I can get, benzos, cocaine, pretty much all hard substances that I can get my hands on.
Did you shoot up heroin?
No.
You never got to that point.
How old?
So from what age, to what age were you addicted?
So I was addicted from the age of 19 to 23.
Okay.
How did you break the cycle of addiction?
I had a want to get sober.
I mean, I had been in and out of treatment before and had no desire to actually get sober.
I just kind of did it to appease everyone around me.
But finally, I got to that point after having a spiritual experience with my father that allowed me to, you know, make that final decision and say, look, I'm going to do this.
And I voluntarily went to rehab and I've been sober ever since.
Yeah, look, good for you.
And you're, again, you're only nine years old.
So it didn't go on that long a period of your life, but you're still involved in recovery.
Apparently, a long-term recovery program you stay in.
And I guess you go to, you know, these addiction meetings still, I read.
Quick break right back.
Matthew Bocce, author of the book Sway, lost his father, worked at Canter Fitzgerald 9-1101 and went through a very rough time thereafter.
And then we'll get to your calls.
By the way, 6.10 tonight, 6.10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 2020 town hall.
Just go to Hannity.com right after the show.
Reminder, by the way, 6.10 tonight, 6.10 Eastern Time.
That's 3.10 Pacific Time.
We're doing a 2020 town hall.
Newt Gingrich and I are doing it together.
Actually, he's hosting it, and I'm sort of like his guest.
Just go to Hannity.com right after the show.
All right, as we continue, Matthew Bocce is with us.
Brand new book out.
It's called Sway.
It's very easy to judge people.
Nobody knows what the hell really happens in people's lives.
You just don't know.
I mean, that is a trauma to any child.
And, you know, we're talking about nearly 3,000 families on 9-1101.
And I've seen this happen many, many times.
I mean, I went to church.
The person that I knew at Canter Fitzgerald, you know, I would see his wife and kids in a church I was attending at the time.
And, you know, we used to go to a late mass.
I think it was either Saturday night or Sunday night, I forget.
And I mean, I just remember just looking over and just feeling so terrible for those kids.
Yeah.
And to be fair, you know, to touch back on the addiction aspect, you know, I started drinking and drugging at about 14, but it was recreational for a while.
And then when I got to opiates, and, you know, look, I'm not going to go into too graphic of detail.
I certainly did touch, you know, some of the other stuff that you alluded to.
But, you know, things could have gotten a lot worse for me, and I'm grateful that they didn't.
I hate to tell you, we lose 300 kids a week to opiates.
Of course, I know.
The odds of a long-term successful recovery, once you're addicted to opiates and heroin in particular, it's about less than 15%.
Your life's over.
People do not recover easily from opiate addiction.
Oh, I completely agree.
And like I said, you know, for me, it was a period of about three years that I was trying to get sober and I couldn't do it.
I couldn't piece together more than 24 hours and at times more than an hour.
And then finally, I hit that breaking point.
And I'm not going to lie, the detox process was horrible before I got sober.
And I've been sober now for over five years.
But this last time when I actually got sober, I mean, I was in detox.
I was having seizures because I was going through Xanax withdrawal.
I mean, there was so much stuff going on.
My body was just shutting down on me.
And I know for a fact, if I were to have continued, I probably, and most likely would not be alive today.
You know, I've heard about the benzo addiction, and I never understood it because I know people, I guess, for therapeutic reason that have taken stuff like Xanax, but I guess not abused it.
I guess if you're abusing it, you get into a different.
I never heard of anybody having that kind of real complications, but I'm hearing more and more about that.
So it obviously has to be very real.
Yeah, and so essentially when you combine Xanax with other pills, particularly opiates, or combine it with alcohol, the effects are greatly enhanced.
And when, especially when combined with alcohol, it's very, very easy to black out.
And so, you know, I would take a few Xanax bars and then, you know, start drinking and pretty quickly be really, really intoxicated and really, really messed up and pretty much not remember anything.
All right.
I got to say goodbye here.
Matthew, thank you so much.
His new book is out.
It's called Sway.
It's on Hannity.com and Amazon.com.
We wish you well.
Glad you're doing well.
Don't stop.
Whatever's working, keep going.
And you'll always be in our thoughts and prayers.
And the same with your family and your dad.
We wish you the best.
Thanks, Sean.
Hey, don't forget, you just go to Hannity.com tonight, 6:10 p.m., 3:10 Pacific Time, Town Hall, 2020 Town Hall for free.
Me and Newt Gingrich.
All right, live free or die.
America, the world on the brink, and you are the ultimate jury.
It is only 53 days.
It will fly by, and you will hear the words, we can now project.
How that sentence ends is in your hands.
You, the American people, you will decide in Florida.
You will decide in Georgia.
You'll decide in every state, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa.
You'll decide in Wisconsin and Kenosha.
You'll decide in Minneapolis and Minnesota.
You'll decide in Michigan.
You'll decide in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico.
You'll decide in New Hampshire.
You'll decide in the congressional district number two in Maine.
Can make all the difference in that race.
Great, by the way, congressional candidate running for that seat.
We're going to have that person on.
Just like John James.
Wow.
He can really win Michigan.
Be an amazing win for him and a great addition to the U.S. Senate.
Really would love to see him win that seat.
So it's, you know, now 19 years ago, 9-11-01.
And I just still can't get over.
I took out the paper today, pick up the New York Post, like I do every day, and I start reading it.
Full page ad.
You have a police officer in dress uniform with white gloves on, hat on, and sitting on what looks like a piece of cement in the middle of the rubble where the World Trade Center once stood, head bowed.
And it says, We haven't forgotten, have you?
Police Benevolent Association, City of New York, Patrick Lynch, president.
Well, I ask, have you forgotten?
Now, we've been playing Michael W. Smith's There She Stand.
We got an incredible video that you're not going to want to miss.
Rudy Giuliani also on tonight, 9 Eastern on Hannity.
There was another great song written by Darrell Worley.
He actually joined us in one of our Freedom concerts one year, and a place went nuts when he would sing, Have You Forgotten?
Listen, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.
I hear people say we don't need this war.
We protest this war and it's not a war actually than slaughter.
But I say there's some things worth fighting for.
We are very grateful and thankful that we live in a country where there's freedom of speech, that people who are either for or against a war can speak out.
About our free.
Everything just went black at this piece of ground.
Everything came down.
We didn't get to keep them by backing down.
Glass are popping.
And people got hurt.
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in.
Oh, there it goes.
There it goes.
There it goes.
Before you start your preaching, let me ask you this, my friend.
Have you forgotten?
Oh, my God.
The next building is another.
Oh, my God.
Another plane just flew in.
The explosion is incredible.
Have you forgotten?
I saw this plane come out of nowhere and just scream right into the side of the Twin Tower, exploding through the other side.
There's been an act of war declared upon America by terrorists.
Have you forgotten?
I can hear you.
The rest of the world hears you.
And the people who knocked these buildings down are here all of us.
Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?
I'm going to die.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, fail.
Say your prayers.
There are dozens of residents that are sitting on the hills behind the Pentagon almost like they're waiting for the 4th of July fireworks, but instead, they're staring dumbfounded at what looks like a war zone.
I mean, you see bodies flying out of the sky and you can't do nothing about it.
You tell me.
There's no words to describe what's going on out there.
Have you forgotten?
America is a nation full of good fortune with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering.
In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom.
They have attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender.
Have you forgotten?
And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
It's a good question, isn't it?
19 years later, have we forgotten about the police, the first responders, the EMTs, the firefighters?
You know, they saw what was happening.
Then they went up the building.
Everyone else is racing as quickly as they're physically able to get the hell out of there.
Although there was a stupid play at some point, I guess somebody, oh, no, stay where you are.
I don't, you know, I guess everyone makes, I'm sure it wasn't done on purpose.
But, you know, I think you always got to follow your own gut.
And have we forgotten about police, firemen, first responders, paramedics, as the trashing of police officers has gone on?
I want to play again, you know, Joe Biden yesterday's or the day before, whatever it was.
I want to take Trump out at the debate and have a fistfight with him.
Not the first time.
Now, here's a question that was asked by the Powerline blog, and they put a montage together that I guess they posted somewhere on Twitter or somebody posted on Twitter.
Where just the montage of Democrats and supporting craziness.
Listen.
I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country, and maybe there will be.
People need to start taking to the streets.
This is a dictator.
You know, there needs to be unrest in the streets for as long as there's unrest in our lives.
Enemies of the state.
Show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful.
Do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless.
Bagel low, be killed.
How do you resist the temptation to run up and bring her neck?
Biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized up to the right.
I thought he should have punished him in the face.
I said, Even if you lost, he insulted your wife.
He came on the escalator and called Mexicans rapists and murders.
He said, Well, what do you think I should have done?
I said, I think you should have punched him in the face and then gotten out of the race.
He would have been a hero.
I'd like to punch him in the face.
I said, if we're in high school, I'd take you behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.
Punch some people in the face.
When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?
They're still going to have to go out and put a bullet in Donald Trump.
And that's a fact.
Look, as his character is stabbed to death, where is John Wilkes' booth when you need him?
That's it right there.
It's pulling up.
I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.
A Missouri State Senator is under investigation by the Secret Service after saying she hopes President Trump is assassinated.
I will go and take Trump out tonight.
And if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd.
And you cut back on them.
And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere.
And sadly, the domestic enemies to our voting system and our honoring our Constitution are right at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
They're not going to stop before Election Day in November, and they're not going to stop after Election Day.
And that should be, everyone should take note of that on both levels.
That this isn't, they're not going to let up and they should not.
If you take me around, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Sounds like they're encouraging violence to me.
But what do I know?
I'm just a talk show host, right?
Unbelievable.
This is now, there is a group that is the Transition Integrity Project founder suggesting a military coup against Trump in the days after the election.
Pelosi out there saying the fire is in California.
Mother Earth is angry.
By the way, thousands have now signed a petition urging leaders to prosecute Pelosi for her coronavirus violations.
You know, it's just these are really, really sick times we live in.
You don't think a lot is at stake?
And just, what, 53 short days?
Let's get to our phones as we say hi to Kyle in Ohio.
No Republican has ever made it to the White House without winning the Buckeye State Kyle.
How's it looking in the great state of Ohio?
I tell you what, Sean, it's an honor to be talking to you.
Dream come true here.
I'm actually on the road right now, and I see nothing but Trump signs.
By the way, do you ever listen to my buddy Bill Cunningham?
Sean Hannity, you're a great American.
God bless you.
I want a full report.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
No, huge, huge Trump fan, so much so.
I got to thank my wife.
We named my son two years old.
His little name is after the president.
It is Donald.
That's how much we believe in this administration.
And then also a shout out to my fellow brothers and sisters.
I've been a firefighter EMT here in Ohio for 10 years, tomorrow actually to the date.
And today, of all days, is a very special, special time for us of just unity for all of us here.
And re-watching and listening to that Have You Forgotten sound I gave goosebumps to myself.
I was almost in tears.
You know, it's just, you know, this country's been through tough times.
You know, it's funny because I know that, for example, there was an article today, and my daughter just went off like so many other kids to college recently.
And she was born just before, literally, the 29th of August, 2001.
Now, she knows about 9-11, but she didn't live through 9-11.
And my son, I just dropped him off at preschool when I got a call from my buddy Gomez saying, Hannah, are you watching this?
I'm like, what?
And the world changed that day.
And, you know, freedom is always going to be under attack.
One of the things I like about where we are now militarily is that, and the president now is committed to building the most technologically advanced modern war technology ever in the history of mankind, both offensive and defensive.
You know, we didn't have the options in the Iraq war that we now have.
I mean, all Biden and Obama needed to do is take off the handcuffs they put on the military.
They could have defeated the caliphate like Donald Trump did.
You know, if there's going to be a new doctrine, it's got to be we win, you lose.
And if there's going to be collateral damage, nobody wants it.
It's not going to be American, our national treasure.
It's not.
And if we're helping out another country, well, then they should pay for the defense that we're providing them.
You know?
All right.
Anyway, good call.
We're counting on you, Kyle.
God bless you.
We need Sean Hannity, Kyle in Ohio is going to lead up Republican efforts in Donald Trump's victory party.
I'm just hoping, Kyle, okay?
Absolutely 100%.
I'll gladly do that, Sean.
Thank you, my friend.
God bless you.
Let's head out to the great state of Mississippi.
Emile is with us.
Emile, how are you?
Glad you called.
Well, I have a couple of points I'd like to talk to you about.
It's funny watching the Democrats' heads explode, saying the president downplayed the virus and he was the direct cause of thousands of deaths due to COVID, you know.
But I'll tell you what is a fact and can be proven is the Democratic governors, mayors, and the media downplaying the uprising and violence all across the country.
You know, the chop zone, Chad, whatever you want to call it, the summer of love, the violent riots and looting in Democrat cities, the hilarious CNN story where the headline was mostly peaceful protests.
Meanwhile, in the background, there's a building on fire behind the guy.
David Dorn being shot, toddlers being killed in strollers by stray bullets, the Trump supporter executed in the middle of the street, you know?
You know, the Democrats have a lot of innocent blood on their hands, not Trump.
I don't know why they keep saying that his downplay is more extreme than theirs.
It's crazy.
Look, it's just sad.
And, you know, there's only one thing really that we have available to us that can guarantee that they're not going to be able to implement this radical agenda of ours.
And that's everybody needs to understand.
Well, I'll use my football analogy.
You know, act like this, everything's on the line this election because their stated policies will destroy the economy.
They'll destroy it.
There are policies of appeasement, weakness.
It will drag us into more aggression around the world.
So the only way I know is to beat them in the election.
We can win the election.
We have to.
Well, yeah, there's a lot.
Live free or die.
America and the world's on the brink.
It's not hyperbole.
I didn't write my first book in 10 years because I like writing books.
I actually hate it.
And I did it because I wanted to outline how serious this threat is.
It is a real clear danger to capitalism, free market capitalism, and the greatest wealth producing country ever designed in the history of man.
That's what's on the ballot.
Law and order is on the ballot.
Taking over the courts, stacking the courts is on the ballot.
Higher taxes, they want to add trillions of new taxes.
Getting rid of the lifeblood of the economy, oil and gas, open borders.
All of it is on the ballot in just 53 days.
Now, we can win.
We proved it.
We shocked the world in 2016.
It's not easy, but it's going to take every single person committing in their heart, their mind, their souls that they are going to do their part.
And by the way, you know, you can literally go to Hannity.com for our interactive map.
How do you register?
When does early voting start in your state?
Absentee voting, all right?
Hannity.com, our interactive map.
Thank you, Emil.
Appreciate it.
800-941-Sean is our number.
Look, speaking of which, this is the most important election in our lifetime.
Wrap things up for tonight.
Get your DVR going tonight.
I hope you DVR every night.
Hannity Fox News are, I think you're going to really like this video we put together to Michael W. Smith's There She Stand.
Rudy Giuliani tonight, Kayleigh McInaney, Kim Klesick, who's running for Congress in Baltimore, Leo Terrell, Dan Bongino, Tammy Bruce, Nine Eastern.
Again, you want to record this video.
It's awesome.
Nine Eastern on the Fox News channel.
We'll see you tonight at 9 back here on Monday when we will only have, we will begin our 50-day countdown till election day.
Oh, and don't forget, we'll see you in 10 minutes.
Free town hall.
Anyone can join.
Just go to Hannity.com, 610 Eastern, and just click on the Join Now button at Hannity.com, 310 out on the West Coast, right after the show.
10 minutes, 6:10.
We'll see you online with Newt Gingrich, 2020 Town Hall free for all.
